House Subcommittee Passes Bill To Establish Database of Medical Errors, USA

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 16 Jul 2005 - 7:00 PDT

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The House Energy and Commerce... Subcommittee on Health on Thursday by voice approved vote a bill (HR 3205) that would establish a database for health care providers to voluntarily report medical errors to state, local and private patient safety monitoring groups, CQ Today reports. HHS, which would maintain the database, would analyze the reports and identify regional and national trends in medical errors. Information about medical errors reported to the database could not serve as evidence in medical malpractice lawsuits. In addition, the bill would authorize $25 million in grants for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to help physicians and hospitals upgrade technology that helps reduce medical errors. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved similar legislation (S 544) in March (Schuler, CQ Today, 7/14).

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